Avatar: Flowing Fire
by Stevennium
Summary: Within a day in Republic City, three ancient relics and the Prince of the Fire Nation had gone missing. Perhaps Adrien shouldn't have run away, but that's where the adventure starts. [Adrinette Avatar AU]
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Miraculous Ladybug or the Avatar (not the movie) universe.

 **A/N:** Hi, everyone! I hope you guys like both ML and A:TLA, because this story is an AU with both! I had this idea after seeing lily-frog's Bender AU fanart on tumblr (go check it out, it's amazing :D), so I had to write it. I hope you guys like it! :)

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 **Avatar: Flowing Fire**

 _Chapter I: The Baker's Daughter and the Prince_

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"Papa, why did an officer visit?"

Tom's eyes did not shift to his daughter's direction, still fixated on the pastries resting on their dinner table. With a look of intense concentration, he hovered his hand over a cake with blue filling at the center and drew it upwards, pulling the air around the filling swiftly to form a perfectly upright twirled cream. He set the cake on his right with the other finished cream cakes.

Marinette sighed and sat in front of her father. It was impossible to capture his focus when making cream cakes, and she couldn't ask her mother while she was out running errands. Perhaps this was her father's silent way of telling her that she should watch the news more.

"The Fire Lord and his son will be visiting Republic City today," her father replied calmly once he finished prepping another cream cake. "They want to make sure that no one in the city tries assassinating either of them."

Marinette's lips mouthed an "oh" as she nodded.

" _I know the Fire Nation's prince, so I'm clearly better than all of you!"_

So that's what her obnoxious classmate was saying.

Her eyes wandered to the large glass window showing a refraction of the streets outside. It was usually colored with bustling pedestrians and whistling Satomobiles, in contrast to the current view she saw of metal gray coating the streets. The Republic City Police Department's officers were scrambling around the city, either knocking on doors or standing guard in long flanks.

"Many world leaders are gathering together for a gala to celebrate the discovery of valuable relics for the Republic City Museum," her father continued. "Mr. Kubdel found them near that Spirit Portal downtown."

Found valuable artifacts always equated to a Kubdel's work in Republic City nowadays. Alix Kubdel, Marinette's classmate and the daughter of said archaeologist, always complained about how people expected her to follow her father's footsteps but appreciated the compliments given to her family for being a cultural blessing to the world.

The thought of Alix reminded Marinette she still had school today.

"W-wait Papa, what time is it?"

Her father smiled at her. "Classes are cancelled, dear. The Police Department doesn't want a lot of civilians out while they prepare for the Fire Lord's arrival. They're going to have it tough for a few days since the other leaders will be arriving within the week."

A sigh of relief escaped her lips. With all the bad luck she (believed she) was born with, this saved her a lot of trouble from being late for school or rushing to avoid being late for school. Right on cue, her cellular phone started vibrating and jiggling her long tunic's pocket.

Before she could press the green _Answer_ key on her keypad phone, the incoming call ended, replaced by a message.

 _Open up before Nino blows your door open!_

 _You guys could've just knocked,_ Marinette thought, giggling. Her father understood without words needed and simply glanced at the door.

"I'm surprised they were able to sneak by officers. How good is Nino as an airbender?" he asked.

Marinette snorts. "Papa, Alya's the Chief of Police's daughter."

He answered with a laugh. "Right. I keep forgetting. Have fun, dearest. Just call me when you need food!"

She kissed her father's cheek before rushing to the door, excited to see her friends again after the long weekend.

She turned the knob of the door, and a swift blast of air met her face. Her disheveled, fly-away hair only meant one thing – Nino and Alya had found something interesting.

While Nino decided to rush in her room immediately, Alya still stood in front of her, chuckling at Marinette's wide eyes and cringing mouth. "Good morning to you too, Marinette."

Marinette flailed her arms around quickly until her posture was composed, her hair fixed, and her pulse soothed to a normal pace. She eyed down the forest green tunic her best friend wore. "You're wearing my gift!"

Alya glanced at her clothes. "Of course. Today's a special day!"

"Huh?"

Before she knew it, Marinette was being dragged to her room by the arm. "Good morning, Mr. Dupain-Cheng!" Alya greeted.

Marinette's father was unfazed by his daughter's distressed face. "Good morning to you too, Alya. Tell Marinette if you guys want snacks, okay?"

* * *

"Prince Adrien, please push your hair back so we can fix your crown."

Nathalie couldn't understand what was going on with the prince.

Even with words of instruction, the boy continued staring at the mirror, his green eyes fixated on his reflection. He didn't speak, move a muscle, or blink for minutes.

"Adrien."

"Nathalie." His voice sounded tired and hoarse. "The United Republic of Nations is still a thousand miles away. Could I please be allowed to sleep and just fix myself before we land?"

His eyes were still on his reflection. Nathalie believed he was gazing at his eyes to remember his mother.

The last time Adrien was in Republic City was when his mother was still around.

She resigned herself to ensure his well-being. "Very well. I will wake you up when we are closer to our destination. What shall I tell your father to make up for your absence for the next hours?"

Adrien blinked. Finally. "Tell him I just want to rest. That I'm getting sea sick from the trip."

She doubted the Fire Lord would believe it, considering that they hired the best ship captain and utilized their best ship for a smooth journey. "I see. Please rest well, Prince Adrien."

Nathalie left the room and shut the door behind her, heels clicking loudly on the hallway's metal floor.

Unbeknownst to her, Adrien waited for her footsteps to fade from earshot. He shut his eyes and slowly stood up, walking towards the open window.

He was sure his father would be disappointed he feigned sea sickness to dismiss his History lesson onboard the ship. What was the point anyway? He already memorized his ancestry and the political agenda of worldwide leaders out of sheer repetition, but his father insisted he needed to study them more. Adrien begged to differ – there were more important things than his ancestry and politics. He knew little of the world outside the Fire Nation, less about communicating with normal folk, and nothing about other cultures. His mother once told him that books in their library were outdated if he wanted to know about the other elemental nations in present day.

His arms stretched until he reached the curtains and, in one swift pull, hid the sunlight passing through the window.

 _Tomorrow_ , he thought, _I'm going to be free._

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 **A/N:** Yeperoonie! We have Prince Adrien of the Fire Nation and Marinette, who is a bender. Cookies to those who guess right on what element Marinette bends! Thanks for reading! Please drop a review and follow if you want me to write the next chapter faster. XD


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Hey, guys! Thanks to everyone who read, faved, followed, and reviewed! It means so much to me :D ( hands out cookies to everyone who reviewed because you all left reviews and basically guessed Mari's a waterbender XD). I'm sorry for the late update since I'm close to finishing this semester. I have my final exams soon, so I have to study hard! I hope you guys enjoy the chapter even though there isn't much action. I'll make up for it next time!

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own ML, A:TLA, or LOK.

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 **Avatar: Flowing Fire**

 _Chapter II: Invitations_

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"Care for some water?"

"Yes please!"

As Alya and Nino stared each other down after their unison remark, Marinette chuckled and placed two ceramic cups on her bedside table, right next to a jar of water. She took a deep breath and motioned her hand upwards gently until water streamed upwards from the jar, forming into a large bleb in front of her right hand. She moved her left hand in front of the water and pulled the water sideward, splitting the globule into two, before motioning her hand in one placid swoop to fill the cups on the table. She glanced back at her best friends, who were staring at the cups in awe.

"What?" she squeaked, earning back their attention. Nino clapped softly while Alya took one cup.

"Watching you waterbend never gets tiring," Alya replied, taking a sip afterwards. "If only I could do that – I won't have to stand up to get water. Also, Mom would stop nagging me for being graceless."

Nino snorted. "Even if you were a waterbender, I still don't think gracefulness will become your forte."

Alya's eyebrow twitched twice. "Let me remind you that I can chuck rocks at your smug face."

"Case clo–yeowch!"

Marinette placed a hand on her forehead. Alya was always the voice of reason in their group… except when she and Nino ended up in spats. Lovers' spats, as she liked to call them, but both Alya and Nino would start a two versus one debate against her statement. It was a joke, of course – she wasn't sure why they were so defensive about it. Maybe, just maybe, there was really something going on with the both of them.

Seeing Alya earthbend her clay bracelet into a round pellet to hit Nino on the head, however, convinced Marinette otherwise.

"Guys, if you want to fight, please don't do it in my room," she sighed. "And besides, I'm not amazing at waterbending. I can't even move forward from the water whip."

"How about enrolling under a waterbending master?" Nino chirped.

Oh, if only it were easy to find waterbending masters these days. Young airbenders were privileged to have many airbending masters in all their temples, all willing to train them, uphold their techniques, and share their culture – everything they had now that were almost wiped out of existence prior to Avatar Aang's return and the Harmonic Convergence. Her father had mastered airbending, as signified by his tattoos, but he had retired years ago from teaching airbending and training junior Air Ball teams after he had married Marinette's mother and opened up a pastry shop.

Unlike the wandering airbending masters, most waterbending masters still resided in the North and South Poles. Oh, what Marinette would give to be an airbender at times like these.

"I'd have to go to the South Pole for that," she replied in a soft voice. "The only things waterbending teachers in this city would teach waterbenders of my age are healing and moving water from one jar to another."

She didn't notice Alya elbow Nino on the rib.

"W-well, you won't need waterbending with the good news we have!" the boy exclaimed. Alya groaned and crossed her arms.

"What good news?" Marinette asked, raising a brow. "You did mention something earlier, Alya."

The girl with dyed brown-orange hair nodded. "You and I are going shopping today because we're going to the royal gala."

Marinette's eyes widened. "D-did you b-bribe your dad or s-something, Alya?" she stammered. Much to her relief, her best friend shook her head.

"Girl, what kind of person do you take me?" Alya snorted. "Dad's the Chief of Police and Mom's part of the event's catering team, so the gala's organizer thought to invite me and my siblings in exchange for their hard work."

"And how am I going to the royal gala?"

Alya grinned. "Mom told me that the organizer wants to hire your parents for the gala's sweets and pastries. I swear on the cosmos, Marinette, they are going to get the invitation tonight." She raised a hand in promise. "And Mom pulled some strings to invite you too."

"The organizer is Mr. Kubdel, isn't it?" Nino snickered. "No wonder Kim's getting in."

"Well, someone needs to distract Alix so she wouldn't distract her brother," Alya suggested.

Marinette's thoughts of the gala blocked out her friends' discussion about the party's guest list.

She was probably going to a gala. The gala. The gala of the year, where royalty, nobility, and intellectuals were to gather to the urban capital of the world. Marinette's heart swelled with joy that her parents' delicious pastries would be showcased in such an event and that she was given an opportunity to a night full of regal aesthetics and beautiful dresses. Marinette was always fascinated with the different fashion styles of different nations, and now she had the chance to see the most magnificent clothes outside Republic City's usual garb.

"Earth to Marinette!" Alya's voice came, her fingers snapping in front of Marinette. The girl blinked out of her stupor. "Aren't you excited?"

"I am!" Marinette exclaimed, feeling energy seep back into her. "But I'm saving my real excitement later when the letter arrives."

Alya raised a brow. "You will still join me in shopping, right? You can even buy that cute dress we saw last week!"

"Won't the police be–"

"They know me," Alya assured with a smirk. "And besides, the Fire Lord and the Prince will be arriving soon. Most of the officers would change posts once they go to the hotel, especially since they are the last royal leaders to arrive."

"Why that much security?" Nino asked after taking another sip from his cup. "I'm pretty sure they are powerful benders. And no one in the right mind would try assassinating them."

"True," Alya noted. "But you're forgetting about the biggest pest of the city – the media reporters."

"Oh… right," Nino mumbled. "Poor Prince Ali was hounded by the press because of Chloe the other day."

Marinette giggled. "At least we know Rose is going to kill Chloe the next time she sees her."

She slapped the open palm Alya extended to her for a high five. "I'm pretty sure they're going to chase after the Fire Nation's prince too. Chloe couldn't stop talking about him either."

"Those poor, poor boys," Marinette said. "And speaking of boys… how are you getting in the gala, Nino?"

He shrugged. "Not going."

"You can go as Alya's date?" Marinette chimed, bracing herself for their screams.

"I'd rather drink cactus juice!"

"See, you even have the same response!"

"No, we don't!"

* * *

 _"Mother, why do people call me Kozu even though my name is Adrien?"_

 _Her soft touch pressed against my cheek._

 _"Nations often have patterns in naming children. The Fire Nation uses letters like Z in their name, but the cultural shift allowed diversity in many things, including names," she answered in a calm voice. "Don't worry too much, Adrien."_

 _I still didn't understand. "Mama, what's the cultural shift?"_

 _She gave me a soft laugh. "You'll learn about it soon enough. If you want, I can ask your teacher to teach it to you tomorrow."_

Adrien's eyes quickly opened, his hand clutching his chest. He fell asleep while seated in front of the mirror.

He dreamt of his mother and woke up in cold sweat. Just as he did for the past few nights.

What made him feel restless was a mystery to him. Was it returning to Republic City, where most of his happy memories with his mother took place in? Was it his father's genuine smile when he told Adrien they invited to the city? He didn't know and didn't want to dwell on it further.

It had been years since his last visit to this city. Nostalgia engulfed his already mixed emotions further as he stood up to survey the seas, remembering the years he'd rather stay on the boat's outdoors rather than cooped up in his quarters. The outline of Avatar Aang's statue he saw earlier was now replaced with a vivid view of the cityscape across Yue Bay. He squinted, the faint gold color of the Pro-Bending Arena capturing his attention.

"Maybe I could join a pro-bending team…" he whispered to himself, then shook his head. "No, Father would find me soon enough."

He turned by his heel and glanced at the mirror once again, noticing how messy his hair was. Nathalie would scold him if he didn't fix himself up like he said he would. He kept his promises, of course, prompting him to finally take a short shower to wash off the cold sweat.

He double-checked for the robe and armor he had to wear later before grabbing his towel, taking a quick look at his staff half-exposed from its sheath resting on his bed.

"Note to self: remove the staff before Nathalie comes in."

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 **A/N:** Hey, guys! About the names and the cultural shift thing:

I have Chinese friends who have English names and Chinese names so I thought of applying this for the story, seeing as it's odd to just suddenly shift from Avatar universe-like names to Westernized/modern names. Hope that clears some things out. :)

Also, Kozu is from Kozu-shima, a volcanic Japanese island in the Philippine Sea. It just so happens that it rearranges to Zuko. XD


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